Hey there!

Sorry for the unexpected break, I was busy with another event, tho I couldn't post it on ffnet since it's a NSFW one. You can still check it out on my AO3 account, username's the same as here ;)

No warning for today's chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 24 – Missed

Truth be told, stalking the palace was a bit boring. Blitz had decided he would leave IMP to his daughter and employees, they were plenty skillful enough to handle this on their own. He put Millie in charge, because no way he was letting Moxxie lead another hit when he was away, and even if he was sure his Loonie could do it, he wanted to be there to oversee the first mission she would fully handle herself.

He did hesitate to take someone with him, but honestly, who knew the layout of the palace better than him? Loona, maybe, but he didn't want to disturb IMP's efficiency too much. Sure, he was taking what was happening to Stolas very seriously, and they were all ready to rush in to help if he ever called them, even in the middle of a hit, but if it was just to watch, he was more than self-sufficient, right?

It was just a bit boring and lonely, is all.

He really wished he could just join Stolas, who seemed as lonely as him, but first, he wasn't sure the owl would appreciate the company. Maybe he enjoyed having the palace to himself for a bit? Secondly, the whole point of this stake out was to finally get a grasp of what was happening, and he doubted whoever was hurting Stolas would show up if he was with him.

So, he was reduced to watching from afar, struggling a bit to find new vantage points when the owl moved from one room to another, but overall he wasn't doing too bad. He already had snacks for the day, and his own set of weapons. He doubted he could handle whoever Stolas' assailants were on his own, or the Goetia would do it himself, besides he needed to assess the situation first, but still, it didn't hurt to be ready.

Now, all he could do was watch, texting the others from time to time to make sure they were fine on their own, and to fight the boredom.

At least his acute surveillance allowed him to confirm one of his suspicions: Stolas definitely wasn't eating. Like, at all. Each time Blitz was trying to remind him to eat, the owl would either ask for a drink or go to the kitchen himself, but he never once tried to eat, and his staff didn't bring him food either.

Speaking of which, he did try to ask one of the imps working in the palace about the fucking blood, but the one who he suspected to be Stolas' main butler refused to say a word. The thing is, Blitz couldn't really threaten him to get answers, for it would probably piss Stolas off, along with betraying his presence and what he was doing, so he begrudgingly let it slide.

Oh well, it wasn't like if it was a problem. The staff probably didn't know much more than what he already knew, namely that the fuckers were coming everyday or every two days, the only break he knew of being Saturday, and it seemed like they didn't come much last week since Stolas was fine on Wednesday too. Maybe they didn't know what they looked like.

Still, the day went by, and still nothing. Because of course, with his luck, they wouldn't come on the first day he was standing watch.

He got a text from Loona wondering where he was when it was time for IMP to close, and he told her to get home without him. He wasn't sure when exactly the fuckers could show up, so he didn't have much of a choice but stay the night. It wasn't going to be comfortable, but he didn't care. He was done ignoring the fucking problem, despite being aware of it for… Was it weeks now? Anyway, way too long! It was even worse when he realized, with all the thinking he was reduced to do to kill time while keeping an eye out on Stolas, that the owl may have been hurt on their last full moon too. Now that he really thought about it, there were several hints of that in his behavior, that he didn't really get at the time because he didn't know better, but in the light of his recent discoveries, it seemed obvious.

Shit, for how long has it been going on, and why was he so stupid that he didn't catch up on it sooner? Also, if it has really been that long, why hadn't Stolas found a solution already?

He was still thinking hard, tail wavering annoyingly, binoculars pointed on Stolas as the prince was lazily drinking tea in his garden, when he seemed to get a call.
His daughter already called earlier in the day. Blitz knew because of the way Stolas' face light up while he was on the phone. But whoever that was, it definitely wasn't Octavia.

The more Blitz watched, the more convinced he was what whoever this was wasn't good news, until Stolas got up, finished his drink and portaled away, leaving Blitz feeling even more stupid in his tree.

Of course, he could be called away, have meetings or something. He did think about it, and would have just waited, but at this hour? What required Stolas' presence that was so urgent?

At least it couldn't be those who were hurting him, right? Unless… Unless they usually didn't hurt him at his place, and yesterday was an exception and not the norm? That would explain the uneasy feeling he got, but he was probably just being paranoid.

Fuck no, he wasn't being paranoid. He tried to ignore everything for too long, thinking Stolas would be fine somehow, but fuck he had made the mistake with Striker already, he wasn't doing it again. If his instinct told him it was fishy, then it probably was. Problem: he couldn't follow Stolas. Loona had the crystal and he had no idea where Stolas went, he couldn't see inside the portal when it was opened.

His tail whipped the trunk behind him, but he didn't care. He didn't feel good about this, and he was already starting to regret not throwing in an excuse to outright visit the owl so this wouldn't happen. He could have pretended to want to check on his injuries after work. Sure, he wanted to find out what was happening, and whoever was behind it probably wasn't stupid enough to show up when him or Via were around, but doing this shit in the evening or night? Was it a way to mess even more with Stolas? Now that he thought about it, the owl was already awake when he arrived, and he was quite early. He wouldn't put it past him to have trouble sleeping, with how exhausted he looked, with or without make up.

Putting the binoculars down on the branch, Blitz crossed his arms with a serious expression, pondering hard what to do now. There wasn't any tree from where he could get a glimpse of all the rooms Stolas was likely to come back in, but if he had to guess, keeping his bedroom in sight was probably his best bet, especially if it was the fuckers again.

Still, despite his bad feeling, he couldn't help but hope it wasn't that. He took out his phone, hesitant. Should he text to pretend to want to come over to check how he was doing? It would explain why he was there once Stolas got back without arising too much suspicion, since he doubted the owl would be able to answer. He still hoped he would tho.

He pondered for a moment, as if hoping to see Stolas return quickly, but after the fifth time checking all the rooms he could see from here where the prince was likely to portal back, he finally decided to text.

Unsurprisingly enough, even after 10 minutes, Stolas still hadn't texted back.

The imp groaned in defeat and decided he had a good excuse to wait in the bedroom directly. Pity the staff had already left at this hour or it would be the perfect opportunity to try again to worm information out of one of them. Speaking of which…

Oh, he should have asked Loona to drop by discretely yesterday, she would have probably been able to smell the fuckers after they left, it would have at least given him some hints. Should he ask her to come quickly with the crystal, since she was off work? She didn't have another party tonight, right?

As soon as he had finished climbing up the balcony to Stolas' bedroom, he took out his phone to call the hellhound.

"Something happened?" She immediately asked with an odd edge to her voice.

It was the first time he heard her sound so concerned and serious about the whole situation, and it made him pause.

"Oh, no, don't worry Loonie! I was just wondering… You know how yesterday, I found Stolas passed out in his bedroom, and deduced he was hurt there?"

"Yeah, that's kinda the point of why you're stalking him right now", she answered with her usual boredom. "Why?"

"I was wondering… Could you come and take a sniff to see if you can smell the fuckers, even if it's been a day? Stolas portaled somewhere I can't follow, I have a hunch it's those assholes again since he's not texting back, and, well, at least if we could take advantage of him not being here…"

"What, want us to go behind his back?"

"That's already kinda what I'm doing…"

His daughter snorted.

"True. Sure, I can show up I guess, but don't get your hopes up. They clean the floors everyday, you know?"

"It still doesn't hurt to try… Hey, and you can also try to sniff where he portaled, maybe you can find out where he went, like with Via in LA!"

"I was lucky this time, but alright. I'm coming over the entrance to check that out real quick."

"Thanks Loonie, I'll meet you there!"

He hung up and ran to the entrance from the inside, praying they wouldn't have erased all the smells around.

Loona was already here when the front doors finally came into view. The imp skidded to a halt in front of her, smiling proudly at her.

"You were still ready to join me in case I called in for backup Loony?"

"Well, duh, of course I was, if you decided to stay the night it was because you thought they had a chance to show up then. M&M brought some weapons back home just in case too, and I kept the crystal as well. Now let's hurry, I don't think you have any idea as to when he could be back?"

"No, but they probably won't keep him that long, so let's hurry! First, let's start with the fresher scent, shall we?"

She shrugged.

"It doesn't change much but if you want. Are you hoping to be able to go where he is if I can identify where he went?"

"Yeah, but no pressure Loonie, do what you can! I… Didn't disturb you?" He suddenly asked, a bit worried.

"No, nothing important, don't worry."

She was playing it cool, but Blitz could feel she was oddly motivated about this, same as yesterday during the second part of their meeting, when he recounted in what state he had found Stolas. He was glad to see her so invested, but he couldn't help but feel a little unnerved as well.

"So, this is the place?" The hellhound asked as they stopped near the table outside, the teacup still on it.

"Yup, here exactly! So, any luck?" He asked, showing the area where the portal opened before looking up hopefully at his daughter.

Loona took a few steps ahead and sniffed intensely, eyes closed, for several seconds before she shook her head.

"I can't pinpoint where he went, but it smells empty and cold. Probably indoors tho."

"Ah, shit. Cold, you say? That's still a good hint, isn't it? Maybe another ring?"

"No, it smells like Pride, but not anywhere near I think. But…"

Her ears went a bit backward as she kept analyzing the air, obviously on edge.

"What is it sweetie? Got any other hint? You're already doing great, I didn't know you could smell temperature!"

"Are you sure he went to whoever is hurting him?" She asked instead.

"I'm not 100% sure, but there are big chances. We'll only be able to confirm this when he gets back."

She wrinkled her nose, before she stopped smelling the few hints remaining in the air.

"I hope not, because if that's the case, then you were probably right about it being related to other Goetias."

"Oh fuck", he grumbled, tail lashing and spikes standing up. "Are you sure?"

"The portal wasn't open for very long and we're outside, most smells didn't linger with the wind and all, but I really think he went to some other Goetia's palace. Even if it was cold where he went, I shouldn't still be able to feel it, so it's probably magical or something. I can't catch much about the other Goetia's smell tho, the place is probably so big it's too weak."

"Fuck!" Blitz sighed, looking down, anxious. "Fuck, that's what I thought. That's gonna be a bitch to deal with, but I'll find a way! Now, you still up to try to smell his room?"

She knew from Saturday there wouldn't be any lingering smell, and she should probably have paid more attention to the smells on the sheets to see if there has been anyone else there, but now it was too late. It was still worth a try, but as they walked back inside, the hellhound sniffing on the way in case she caught a smell by chance, she couldn't help but ponder about the three hellhounds she already knew the smell of.

She knew Stolas never told Blitz about what happened, and she didn't press, but if they were to make serious progress, then she would probably have to tell him at some point. It didn't mean she had to say what happened, but Blitz was right. This shit was serious, she couldn't afford to withhold information. If she was to guess, Stolas was probably doing so because he didn't want to endanger them, since the opponent was stronger than what they usually dealt with, but if they could convince him to share his information, they could actually come up with a decent plan together.

They could decide how to convince the owl to let them in later, if Blitz wasn't already pondering hard about it. Loona was more focused on the smells despite knowing she had little to no chance of finding anything, and indeed, they cleaned well, even outside, before the entrance, which felt a bit odd. She never really paid attention before, but she had a feeling everything had been cleaned in a different way than usual to remove the smells here too, and it was of course worse inside.

Maybe she shouldn't have told Stolas she knew on Saturday, it probably prompted the prince to be even more cautious in erasing evidence, but at the time it felt like a good idea, to show him he wasn't alone, though she hadn't been quite as supportive as she initially intended.

On second thought, she couldn't help but feel like there was something more to it. Not wanting their help in fear of endangering them was one thing, but willingly hiding and erasing evidence? It was a bit much.

Wanting to end with the bedroom, Loona decided to search for the cellar on their way there to check what Via asked her to. Speaking of which… Would the owlet know of a Goetia that had a cold palace? Was that too vague? I may be worth a try.

First, she needed to focus on the matter at hand, and indeed, there were two bottles of absinthe missing compared to what Via told her there should have when she left. The hellhound frowned, turning to Blitz.

"Did you see him drink today?"

"Uh? No, not alcohol at least, and certainly not something of that color, I would remember! Are there many bottles missing?"

"Yup, two, which is a lot considering what we're talking about."

"Fuck", Blitz sighed with a hand to his eyes, as Loona glanced around, sniffing to check if she could spot hints. They hadn't cleaned as thoroughly here, but all she could gather was that Stolas went to fetch the bottles himself, probably the two at once, on Sunday evening or night if she had to guess given how old the smell was.

Both demons were silent as they walked to Stolas' bedroom, thinking about their findings and what to do next, until they both stopped near the door as soft noises came from inside the bedroom. They exchanged a glance and Loona was quick to confirm after a simple breath in "Stolas' back."

Blitz didn't need to be told twice. He burst inside, not waiting any longer, screw it if he came across another bloody scene, only to blink as the owl squeaked in surprise, jerking away from his closet, almost already fully clothed and obviously freshly out of his bath.

"Blitz, what are you… Can you maybe at least knock before entering?!"

The imp just stood in the doorway, blinking blankly, surprised to see that Stolas was moving like before portaling away, if a little more stiffly. He advanced on him while Loona slowly made her way inside, smelling the air and giving the owl a knowing look.

"I take it you didn't climb the balcony because you weren't alone? I'm sorry about not answering your text yet Blitz, but I told you that sometimes…"

Blitz ignored the owl's rant and stopped in front of him, frowning.
"You bathed this morning when you got up. Why the fuck are you bathing again? You're not going anywhere this late, are you?"

"Probably not, I bet he was simply bathing to erase evidence", Loona pointed out.

Stolas flinched, casting a betrayed look to the hellhound who simply shrugged.

"What? You don't smell hurt, but I'm still pretty sure I'd find hints on the clothes you were wearing before. Should I go find them?"

"No!" Stolas exclaimed before he realized what he just indirectly admitted, and he froze as two set of eyes locked on him.

"I fucking knew it. Don't tell me you asked the assholes who torture you to change place so I wouldn't risk taking them by surprise!" Blitz continued.

"No, I didn't! I…"

The owl suddenly shook his head, feeling the discussion completely escape him, before he gave the imp a severe glance.

"I am not to disclose my schedule to anyone to quell their worries. While I appreciate your concern, you have done nothing but overstep Blitz. Can you please stop barging in my home as soon as I stop answering my phone? I'm also not fond of your new habit of stalking my place."

Blitz froze at that, eyes wide.

"How… How do you know? The fuckers told you, didn't they? That's why they asked you to come to them? Fuck!"

The prince was having a hard time containing his annoyance, a hand coming to rub at his eyes.

"Blitz… Please stop this. I am… Touched by your efforts, really, but we agreed you would only get involved to help me patch up. This is getting into far more than that, and I must ask you to take a step back. Please."

"Oh yeah, let's just let the fuckers keep torturing you until, who knows, some day they decide they'll just kill you! Don't give me that look Stolas, how do you know it won't come to that eventually? How can I be sure it won't? Don't you dare tell me to trust you, you didn't stick to your word either! So what should we do now?"

Stolas sighed, focused on Blitz and Blitz only. They kept arguing, both demons completely forgetting about Loona's presence while Stolas tried to prove to Blitz he hadn't sustained any new injury, most bandages from yesterday's wounds gone by now, but the hellhound knew something happened. She wasn't sure if Blitz had noticed the stiffness in the Goetia's movements, but she had, and she also knew what could have happened that wouldn't have resulted in the usual wounds. But she also knew he wouldn't let her wander off to the laundry, she could go unnoticed only because she wasn't moving, but she was still thinking. Hard.

Blitz was angry because he was worried, and it was causing Stolas to close up. Stolas, who probably had a reason to keep them out of it if his panic when Blitz tried to argue in favor of letting them in was anything to go by, but Loona knew it wasn't only that. She was no psychologist, but she remembered the pound, what she felt there, what she saw, and she couldn't help but feel like Stolas was also shutting them out because Blitz hadn't respected his boundaries, and deciding to involve them or not was one of the few things he still had control on, and they were taking that choice away too.

But as much as she had tried to respect this boundary, Blitz wasn't going to, and she had to agree with him: it was too serious to be able to let things go like they were for too long. It would take too much time to get Blitz to back down and Stolas to finally accept their help after already not listening to him, it only left one path to solve this quickly, even though she didn't like it. She made a face and sighed before she finally said:

"Blitz, leave him alone, I have another trail we can try. I smelt three hellhounds here on Saturday, I'm sure they're linked to this, we can try to find them."

The owl froze at that, fear and worry flooding Loona's nose as Blitz jumped around to look at her.

"What? On Saturday? Why didn't you tell me before Loona?!"

She looked up to meet Stolas' distressed gaze and sighed.

"I wanted Stolas to tell you himself, but I don't think he will anytime soon. I won't say what happened, that's still his choice to make, but for the rest? I waited too long already."

31/07/2024

Usually I'd say "see you next week" but the next chapter isn't ready yet, not even half way through, so... I'll try, but I make no promise.

Until then, be patient and take care! ;)